Typically, games between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers feature two Staal brothers—Eric, the Carolina center, and Marc, the Rangers defenseman.

Friday night, though, Marc Staal did not play—he sat out, as he has all season, because of post-concussion symptoms stemming from a hit by Eric on Feb. 22.

The 24-year-old has, according to the New York Post, been in a "shutdown" period, per doctors orders, that began on Oct. 16. He has a follow-up evaluation next week, but remains out indefinitely, despite playing after the hit. He began experiencing headaches in the summer.

“There were a lot of steps that happened after that hit that probably have put him in the position that he’s in now,” Eric Staal said Friday, according to the New York Daily News. “I don’t think it’s just that hit. It’s not like I hit him and he’s been done since that point. He played, he came back, and he’s in and out. And I think there’s a lot of other decisions and things after that that have led to where he is now, but that—like I said before—is all behind us and behind him, and now we’re looking forward, and he’s healing and on the right track to getting back.”

Not that the Carolina forward, who has struggled significantly this season, isn't thinking about his brother."I wouldn't say it has kept me awake at night, but it's tough," Eric told NHL.com earlier this week. "If I could take it back I probably wouldn't hit him knowing where we've gone and what has gone on since then. But it was one of those plays, bang-bang, happens so quickly, and I hit him hard."

As for the Rangers, coming into the game, they weren't anticipating retribution.

“We’re missing one of our best players because of that hit, whether the hit was very dirty or not,” Brandon Prust told the Post following yesterday’s practice. “But with it being between brothers, it’s definitely a unique circumstance.

“We’re obviously going to go out and play a hard, physical game, and we’ll certainly finish our checks against Eric, but we can’t afford to lose our heads and take any stupid penalties over this.

“I hope maybe sometime over the summer when Eric was sleeping, Marc found the way to get some payback.”